Sunday, September 5
Hartford, Wis.
Texas A&M
at
Marquette Intercollegiate
Photo by: Kate Luffman/Texas A&M Athletics
No. 16 Texas A&M, Lee Sweep at Marquette Intercollegiate
Sep 07, 2021 | Men's Golf
HARTFORD, Wis. – The 16th-ranked Texas A&M men's golf team opened the season in style as the Aggies swept the team and individual titles Tuesday at the Marquette Intercollegiate held at Erin Hills.
The Maroon & White carded a 7-under 281 in the final round to finish the tournament at 32-under, four strokes ahead of South Florida. The win marked the third tournament title for the Aggies under second-year head coach Brian Kortan. Additionally, Texas A&M shattered the tournament record for lowest score in relation to par by 19 strokes (13-under) which was set by Stanford in 2013 and SMU in 2015.
"Today was awesome, and you couldn't have asked for a better way to start the season," Kortan said. "The guys were really good this week. To win a golf tournament at a great course like that against a lot of quality teams, you have to do a lot of things right, and we did. Walker (Lee) played steady the whole week. He didn't drive it great, but his iron game was on. He had some great iron shots, and put himself in position to score which is bottom line in this game.
"It takes a really good team effort to win these college golf tournaments. It is hard to do. Sam (Bennett) had a great round today. Daniel Rodrigues came back with a really nice round. Michael Heidelbaugh didn't post a great score today, but he got us off to a really good start with how he played starting off the front nine. To come here with two new guys and win a college golf tournament right off the gates is pretty awesome for this program, and it shows where we are at and the kind of kids we have."
Individually, Walker Lee registered his fourth-career victory as the Houston native finished the tournament at 14-under, defeating East Tennessee State's Mats Ege by a stroke. Lee shot a 3-under 69 in the final round, carding six birdies. For the tournament, he led the field in par 3 scoring and was second in total birdies made at 17.
"It's awesome to start off the year with a team win as well as an individual win," Lee said. "It was awesome to see the younger guys embrace the pressure and play great golf when we needed them. I was proud of the way I hung in there after the first 27 holes as that was some of the best golf I've ever played. I was able to minimize the big mistakes and get a couple putts to drop coming down the stretch to win."
Sam Bennett and Michael Heidelbaugh captured top-15 finishes as the duo tied for 12th at 5-under, and Phichaksn Maichon tied for 22nd at 3-under in his first collegiate tournament.
Daniel Rodrigues tied for 54th and was 3-under in the final round. Rodrigues was 2-under on the front nine with birdies on Nos. 4 and 5, and moved to 6-under for the day with back-to-back birdies on holes 12 and 13 before an eagle on No. 14. He double bogeyed No. 15 and bogeyed 18 to finish with a 69, his best round of the tournament.
The Aggies are back in action Sept. 13-15 at the Maridoe Collegiate Invitational held at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas.
For the most up-to-date information on Texas A&M men's golf, follow the Aggies on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@aggiemensgolf).
The Maroon & White carded a 7-under 281 in the final round to finish the tournament at 32-under, four strokes ahead of South Florida. The win marked the third tournament title for the Aggies under second-year head coach Brian Kortan. Additionally, Texas A&M shattered the tournament record for lowest score in relation to par by 19 strokes (13-under) which was set by Stanford in 2013 and SMU in 2015.
"Today was awesome, and you couldn't have asked for a better way to start the season," Kortan said. "The guys were really good this week. To win a golf tournament at a great course like that against a lot of quality teams, you have to do a lot of things right, and we did. Walker (Lee) played steady the whole week. He didn't drive it great, but his iron game was on. He had some great iron shots, and put himself in position to score which is bottom line in this game.
"It takes a really good team effort to win these college golf tournaments. It is hard to do. Sam (Bennett) had a great round today. Daniel Rodrigues came back with a really nice round. Michael Heidelbaugh didn't post a great score today, but he got us off to a really good start with how he played starting off the front nine. To come here with two new guys and win a college golf tournament right off the gates is pretty awesome for this program, and it shows where we are at and the kind of kids we have."
Individually, Walker Lee registered his fourth-career victory as the Houston native finished the tournament at 14-under, defeating East Tennessee State's Mats Ege by a stroke. Lee shot a 3-under 69 in the final round, carding six birdies. For the tournament, he led the field in par 3 scoring and was second in total birdies made at 17.
"It's awesome to start off the year with a team win as well as an individual win," Lee said. "It was awesome to see the younger guys embrace the pressure and play great golf when we needed them. I was proud of the way I hung in there after the first 27 holes as that was some of the best golf I've ever played. I was able to minimize the big mistakes and get a couple putts to drop coming down the stretch to win."
Sam Bennett and Michael Heidelbaugh captured top-15 finishes as the duo tied for 12th at 5-under, and Phichaksn Maichon tied for 22nd at 3-under in his first collegiate tournament.
Daniel Rodrigues tied for 54th and was 3-under in the final round. Rodrigues was 2-under on the front nine with birdies on Nos. 4 and 5, and moved to 6-under for the day with back-to-back birdies on holes 12 and 13 before an eagle on No. 14. He double bogeyed No. 15 and bogeyed 18 to finish with a 69, his best round of the tournament.
The Aggies are back in action Sept. 13-15 at the Maridoe Collegiate Invitational held at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas.
For the most up-to-date information on Texas A&M men's golf, follow the Aggies on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@aggiemensgolf).
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